Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: Greenpeace Statement –

WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 16, 2026) – The Trump administration has announced a proposed deep sea mining lease sale¹ in federal waters near American Samoa, marking the world’s first attempt to commercially mine the deep sea. The move is a major step toward opening U.S. waters to commercial deep sea mining and comes despite mounting opposition from Pacific Indigenous leaders, Pacific communities, and civil society groups. 

Arlo Hemphill, Greenpeace USA Oceans Are Life Campaign Lead, said:  “The Trump administration is attempting to launch the world’s first commercial deep sea mining lease sale despite clear opposition from Pacific communities and major unanswered scientific questions. Pacific peoples are being asked to shoulder the risks of a destructive new industry enabling corporations to chase profits in one of the last wild places on earth.”

The announcement comes after American Samoa imposed a moratorium on seabed mining in its waters and formally opposed federal proposals to mine the outer continental shelf near the territory. An April document issued by the newly redesignated Marine Minerals Administration (MMA) outlined plans for lease sales in American Samoa in August 2026 and indicated funding for tribal and Pacific Islands outreach would only follow the lease sales, a clear breach in the consultation of affected communities. 

“The federal government is moving forward with a decision affecting Pacific communities before meaningful consultation has even begun — scheduling outreach after the lease sale, not before it,” added Hemphill. 

Sabrina Suluai-Mahuka, founder of American Samoa’s Finafinau Foundation² said: “Pacific people have made our position clear: we do not want deep sea mining in our waters. Yet the Trump administration is forcing this industry on our communities – imposing decisions that could affect us permanently without consulting us. Our ocean is our home, our food, our culture, and our future, and we are calling on the Administration to stop this reckless lease sale before irreversible harm is done.” 

Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, which were also identified in MMA documents for future lease sales, have similarly expressed opposition to deep sea mining proposals. Their opposition includes a recent call by both governors for a moratorium on the practice. More than 3,000 residents from U.S. territories have signed petitions opposing the industry’s launch in the region. And on June 5th the governor of Guam signed a ban in nearshore waters under territorial control.

Solomon “Uncle Sol” Pili Kahoʻohalahala, a Native Hawaiian Elder of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument Advisory Council and Native Hawaiian Cultural Working Group, said:  “The Pacific has already seen what happens when governments and corporations treat our ocean as something to exploit instead of a living system that sustains our people. Indigenous leaders across the Pacific are standing together against deep sea mining because we know the risks will not stop at our shorelines. The ocean connects our communities across generations, and Pacific peoples will continue protecting it.”   

More photos can be viewed here and images of Pacific leaders lobbying in Washington, DC can be seen here.

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Contacts:

Tanya Brooks, Senior Communications Specialist at Greenpeace USA, [email protected], +1 703 342 9226

Greenpeace USA Press Desk: [email protected]   

Greenpeace USA (Inc.) is part of a global network of independent campaigning organizations that use peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future. Greenpeace USA is committed to transforming the country’s unjust social, environmental, and economic systems from the ground up to address the climate crisis, advance racial justice, and build an economy that puts people first. Learn more at www.greenpeace.org/usa.

Source: Greenpeace Statement –

More photos will be available soon in the Greenpeace Media Library

HOBOKEN, NJ (July 16, 2026)—Greenpeace USA activists today unfurled a 50-foot banner outside Dove’s USA headquarters with the message “Dove: Care for Men’s Health, Kick Plastic Out.” Just days ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 finals, activists dressed in soccer jerseys handed out ‘red cards’ penalizing Dove, the Official World Cup Personal Care Sponsor, and urging it to kick plastic out of its packaging. Greenpeace is calling on Dove to act faster to address its role in the global plastic pollution crisis — a growing public health emergency.

Lindsey Jurca, Senior Oceans Campaigner at Greenpeace USA, said: “As an official sponsor of the World Cup, Dove has spent millions telling men it cares for their most sensitive parts. But its parent company, Unilever, is one of the world’s top plastic polluters — and now plastic pollution is showing up below the belt. Dove can’t have it both ways. We’re asking Dove to put its money where its mouth is and kick plastic out.”

Dove has used the FIFA World Cup to promote its plastic‑packaged men’s personal care line and presents itself as a brand that cares about men. Yet its parent company, Unilever, produces more than 600,000 tonnes of plastic packaging annually and consistently ranks among the world’s top 5 plastic polluters.

Emerging science is raising questions about the links between exposure to microplastics and plastic chemicals and men’s sexual health and fertility. Sperm counts have dropped by nearly 62% since the 1974 Men’s World Cup and doctors are sounding alarms that chemicals found in plastics could be a culprit. Plastic chemicals include known endocrine disruptors capable of interfering with hormone systems. 

Recent studies reveal that microplastics may be showing up in semen and penile tissue, underscoring how deeply plastic pollution could be reaching into men’s bodies. Dove’s products are largely packaged in polyethylene (PET), a plastic that may leach hundreds of chemicals into the products it contains over time, some capable of interfering with male hormone systems.

As a company that has millions to spend on Dove’s World Cup sponsorship, Unilever can afford to invest in large-scale reuse-and-refill systems. Unilever pledged to halve its virgin plastic footprint by 2025, missed that target, and has since quietly shifted its goalposts. Despite repeated calls from customers to stop selling plastic sachets and other packaging, the company has not provided a plan to scale up reuse initiatives beyond current pilot projects, or to phase out sachets. 

Shanna Swan, an environmental and reproductive epidemiologist known for her research on environmental contributors to declining sperm counts, said: “We are seeing decades-long declines in semen quality and testosterone levels worldwide, with chemicals in the environment linked to the declines. Some of these endocrine-disrupting chemicals are associated with plastics and are showing up in placental and testicular tissue, where they can adversely impact the developing fetus. This isn’t just about men’s balls; it’s about the survival of life on the planet. It is urgent that these exposures, capable of decreasing the reproductive success of current and future generations, be removed from commerce.”

Eric Isaac, one of the men who took part in Swan’s intervention featured in the Netflix documentary, The Plastic Detox, said: “My wife and I struggled with infertility for years. I was shocked to learn that my everyday exposure to plastics could be part of the problem. We welcomed a baby boy last February, and we can’t help but wonder if our lifestyle changes to reduce our exposure to plastic helped. Every family should have the freedom to know that joy.”

Leonardo Trasande, MD, MPP, internationally renowned leader in environmental health, said: “Plastics represent a multidimensional and urgent threat to human health. The scientific evidence is extremely strong for the effects of certain plastic chemicals on our hormones—from cradle to grave and womb to tomb. This is not an abstract or distant concern. It is an issue that should concern us all. We know enough about plastics to act with urgency.”

Last week, Greenpeace USA lit up the New York skyline with a message for World Cup fans: “Defend Your Balls. Dove, Kick Plastic Out.” The projection was part of a campaign calling on Unilever to phase out plastic packaging, transition to plastic-free, zero-waste, reusable packaging, and support a strong Global Plastics Treaty that cuts plastic production.  

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Contacts:

Tanya Brooks, Senior Communications Specialist at Greenpeace USA, +1 703 342 9226. [email protected]   

Greenpeace USA Press Desk: [email protected] 

Greenpeace USA (Inc.) is part of a global network of independent campaigning organizations that use peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future. Greenpeace USA is committed to transforming the country’s unjust social, environmental, and economic systems from the ground up to address the climate crisis, advance racial justice, and build an economy that puts people first. Learn more at www.greenpeace.org/usa.

Source: Amnesty International –

Responding to reports that more than 500 people are feared dead after two boats carrying mostly Rohingya refugees capsized off the coast of Myanmar, Amnesty International’s Myanmar Researcher Joe Freeman said:

“These reports are a heartbreaking reminder of the increasingly desperate choices facing many Rohingya today. People do not risk their lives at sea unless the alternatives are even more unbearable. Decades of persecution, statelessness, conflict and severe humanitarian hardship have left many with nowhere safe to turn.

“These sea journeys are always perilous, but the fact that they are happening during the monsoon season when sailing conditions are rougher than normal further highlights the risks people are willing to take to escape the dire conditions in both the Bangladesh refugee camps and in the Rohingya homeland in Myanmar’s Rakhine State.

“In Bangladesh, Rohingya families lack aid, education and proper shelter, while also facing forced recruitment by armed groups and kidnapping for ransom by criminal gangs, trends that Amnesty International has documented through past interviews with parents and young people. In Myanmar, most of Rakhine State is now under the control of the Arakan Army, which Amnesty and others have accused of using the Rohingya for forced labour, reinforcing the apartheid-like conditions created by the Myanmar military.

“Therefore it is not surprising that these tragedies at sea continue to happen, and they only emphasize the need for durable solutions both in Bangladesh and in Myanmar. Governments across the region must strengthen search-and-rescue efforts, ensure timely access to protection for those seeking safety and work together to end the cycle of neglect that continues to put Rohingya lives at risk.

“This should also send a message to the Bangladesh authorities and the international community to prevent forced repatriation. Conditions in Rakhine State are not viable for safe and dignified returns as people continue to flee the place the Bangladesh government wants to forcefully repatriate them to.”

Source: Amnesty International –

Three years after signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen migration cooperation with Tunisia, the European Union (EU)’s unchecked support for border control in the country continues to fuel serious human rights violations against migrants, asylum seekers and refugees, Amnesty International said today.   

The European Commission and Tunisia signed the deal on 16 July 2023, despite clear public documentation of a sharply deteriorating human rights situation in the country, including racist abuse and unlawful collective expulsions by the authorities that often involved torture and ill-treatment.  

Since then, and despite the continuation of these violations and the 2024 dismantling of the asylum system removing the only avenue for protection, EU and member state officials have remained resolutely committed to strengthening that cooperation, celebrating the resulting significant drop in irregular departures from Tunisia while failing to put in place rigorous and credible due diligence measures, or to embed effective, transparent monitoring or human rights conditionality. 

“Despite well-documented evidence of human rights violations against refugees and migrants in Tunisia, the EU looked the other way and signed the MoU without effective human rights safeguards. Since then, the EU has celebrated this migration cooperation as a success despite mounting documentation that the Tunisian authorities continue to subject refugees and migrants to serious human rights violations. These have included dangerous interceptions at sea putting lives at risk, failures to individually assess protection needs of those disembarked in Tunisia, as well as unlawful collective expulsions which have involved torture and other ill-treatment, including rape,” said Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.  

Given the scale and severity of ongoing human rights violations, and the lack of any protection avenues with no access to asylum, it is clear that Tunisia cannot be considered safe.

Heba Morayef, Amnesty International

“Given the scale and severity of ongoing human rights violations, and the lack of any protection avenues with no access to asylum, it is clear that Tunisia cannot be considered safe. The EU must act urgently to suspend cooperation on border control with Tunisia and implement strict, credible and effective human rights safeguards.” 

In September 2025, the EU delivered two new search-and-rescue (SAR) vessels to Tunisia and in June 2026 President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen announced the delivery of three more, in a leaked letter to EU member states, in which she highlighted a 97% decrease in irregular arrivals to Italy since 2023. 

In April 2026, in response to a Freedom of Information (FoI) request from Amnesty International, the Commission disclosed that Tunisia and other countries would benefit from a EUR 675 million migration support package between 2025 and 2027.  

In November 2025, Amnesty International published a comprehensive report documenting the scale and gravity of violations described above. Those violations have continued while Tunisian authorities have not restored access to asylum procedures. 

Source: Oxfam –

Source: Amnesty International –

Responding to the reported arrest of five people in police raids on two independent bookstores in Hong Kong today, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director Sarah Brooks said:

“This year’s escalating attacks on Hong Kong’s independent bookstores hammer home the chilling reality of what the city has become: a place where you can be criminalized simply for what’s on your bookshelf.

“Booksellers should never face arrest simply for doing their jobs: selling, publishing or distributing books. The use of ‘sedition’ offences to target bookstores once again demonstrates how Hong Kong’s national security framework is being weaponized to silence dissenting voices and eradicate spaces for free thought and debate.

“The growing uncertainty over so-called ‘red lines’ for booksellers leaves publishers and writers guessing which titles could lead to criminal investigation, arrest or closure. Such ambiguity is intentional: fueling fear and self-censorship, with devastating consequences for freedom of expression.

“Hong Kong’s authorities must immediately stop using national security and sedition laws to criminalize the peaceful exercise of human rights, and ensure that everyone in Hong Kong can access, publish and share ideas without fear of arrest.”

Source: Greenpeace Statement –

14 July 2026 – In response to plans by Kenya and Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, to construct a 700,000-barrel-per-day oil refinery in Lamu County, Sherelee Odayar, Oil and Gas Campaigner at Greenpeace Africa, said:

“This project threatens to damage one of East Africa’s most fragile coastal ecosystems while locking Kenya into a risky fossil fuel future. Lamu’s mangroves, coral reefs and seagrass beds are not expendable; they support fisheries, livelihoods and coastal protection. A mega-refinery of this scale brings habitat destruction, marine degradation, oil spill risk and dangerous air pollution.

“The promise of ‘thousands of jobs’ cannot be used to hide the true cost of this investment. Large fossil fuel projects often create temporary jobs while undermining existing livelihoods in fishing, tourism and small-scale local economies.

“This refinery also risks becoming a stranded asset as the world moves toward cleaner energy. It would also lock Kenya into decades of carbon-intensive development, worsening climate change and its impacts. The enormous capital required for a project of this scale could instead help accelerate Kenya’s renewable energy future through solar, wind, geothermal, storage and better energy access.

“No approvals should move forward without a full, independent environmental and social impact assessment, genuine public participation, and transparent scrutiny of the long-term economic, health and ecological risks.”

Greenpeace Africa is calling for an immediate halt to approvals until an independent Environmental and Social Impact Assessment is completed, publicly released and subjected to meaningful public participation. Any review must assess cumulative impacts on Lamu’s mangroves, coral reefs, seagrass beds and fishing livelihoods, alongside the wider economic risk of locking Kenya into costly fossil fuel infrastructure as the global energy transition accelerates.

ENDS

For more information, contact:

Ferdinand Omondi, Communication Lead, East and Southern Africa, +254 722 505 233, [email protected]

Greenpeace Africa Pressdesk: [email protected] 

Source: Amnesty International –

What began as a temporary measure allegedly to combat gang violence has evolved into a permanent system that promotes and justifies mass arbitrary detentions, the suspension of guarantees, and serious human rights violations that could amount to crimes against humanity. These are the conclusions reached by Amnesty International in its new report “Security” without rights: The impact of mass arbitrary detentions and denial of due process on the possible commission of crimes against humanity in El Salvador.

Four years after the introduction of the state of exception, more than 90,000 people have been detained, at least 470 have died in state custody and thousands of families continue to seek answers about the whereabouts, health or legal status of their loved ones. The report documents how exceptionality was progressively transformed into a permanent security policy based on the prolonged suspension of rights and the systematic weakening of the rule of law.

“Security cannot be built on arbitrariness, torture, enforced disappearances and the annulment of due process,” said Ana Piquer, Americas director at Amnesty International. “The state has an obligation to protect the population from criminal violence and to investigate and punish crimes committed by gangs, but that obligation does not authorize the commission of serious human rights violations.”

The state has an obligation to protect the population from criminal violence and to investigate and punish crimes committed by gangs, but that obligation does not authorize the commission of serious human rights violations.”

Ana Piquer, Americas director at Amnesty International.

The research is based on six fact-finding visits conducted between May 2022 and January 2025, 109 interviews with victims, their relatives, lawyers, public defenders, private defence attorneys, and active and retired members of the National Civil Police (PNC), as well as an analysis of charging documents, court rulings, legislative decrees and a direct review of more than 80 individual cases.

The report reveals how active and retired PNC officers described a system of detention quotas, verbal instructions without documentary support and institutional pressure to fabricate records that would lend an appearance of legality to arbitrary arrests. It also records the use of outdated databases and profiling based on territorial and socio-economic criteria by the Salvadoran authorities to justify mass arbitrary detentions.

“In many cases, no one verifies whether the detentions are lawful or not. We just bring people in, the Attorney General’s Office receives the package, and that’s it. No judge sees anything at that moment […]. By the time they are taken to court, fifteen days have gone by, and the judges simply read the list and confirm everything. No one asks whether there were beatings or whether there was an arrest warrant,” said a PNC officer interviewed by Amnesty International.

“In many cases, no one verifies whether the detentions are lawful or not. We just bring people in, the Attorney General’s Office receives the package, and that’s it. No judge sees anything at that moment […]. By the time they are taken to court, fifteen days have gone by, and the judges simply read the list and confirm everything. No one asks whether there were beatings or whether there was an arrest warrant,” said a PNC officer interviewed by Amnesty International.

This situation is exacerbated by another of the report’s central findings: the adoption of procedural reforms incompatible with international human rights standards that have progressively transformed the Salvadoran criminal and judicial system. In numerous documented cases, the courts have ceased to exercise effective control over the actions of police, prosecutors and other state authorities, and have instead become bodies that validate arbitrary detentions and uphold serious deprivations of liberty even in the absence of verifiable evidence or sufficient individualized assessments.

“In many cases, it no longer matters whether evidence exists or not. It is enough for the police to say that someone ‘looks like a gang member’ for the system to prosecute them,” said a defence attorney interviewed by Amnesty International. “We are seeing cases in which behaviours are not individualized, specific facts are not described, and detention becomes practically automatic.”

“In many cases, it no longer matters whether evidence exists or not. It is enough for the police to say that someone ‘looks like a gang member’ for the system to prosecute them,” said a defence attorney interviewed by Amnesty International.

Amnesty International concludes that the documented patterns — mass arbitrary detentions, torture, enforced disappearances and deaths in state custody — could constitute crimes against humanity under Article 7 of the Rome Statute, as there are reasonable grounds to believe that these acts may have been committed as part of a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population, in an institutional context that has facilitated their commission.

Amnesty International has again identified a strong discriminatory component in the implementation of the state of exception. Most of the documented victims come from historically impoverished and stigmatized communities, many of which had previously been affected by gang violence. The research shows that factors such as place of residence, physical appearance, socioeconomic status or unverified anonymous accusations have frequently been used to justify arrests and sustain criminal charges.

The report also documents how, during judicial hearings, arguments relating to ties to the community presented by the defence — such as formal employment, family ties, studies, fixed residence or community participation — are frequently dismissed without sufficient individualized assessment. According to Amnesty International, this has contributed to turning pre-trial detention into a virtually automatic, rather than exceptional, measure.

Although the Salvadoran government presents the state of exception as a successful security policy, Amnesty International has warned that the human cost has been borne mainly by people without a final conviction, detained without a warrant, without individualized investigation and, in many cases, without verifiable evidence against them.

“This investigation shows that the Salvadoran authorities have allowed their security policy to lead to systematic and widespread human rights violations that could amount to crimes against humanity, also affecting thousands of people against whom there is no robust indication that they have committed crimes,” said Ana Piquer. “The findings of this report are not intended to prevent authorities from investigating people suspected of committing crimes or criminal structures, but to ensure that they do so within the framework of due process.”  

“This investigation shows that the Salvadoran authorities have allowed their security policy to lead to systematic and widespread human rights violations that could amount to crimes against humanity.”

Ana Piquer, Americas director at Amnesty International.

“Amnesty International demands that those who have not committed crimes — and the evidence shows that they could number in the thousands — do not continue to pay with their freedom, their health or even their lives for a policy designed to produce numbers, not justice. This is not equivalent to calling for the indiscriminate release of people, but rather to ensuring that those who remain deprived of liberty are subject to credible investigations and fair trials for their possible involvement in crimes.”

The report records deaths in state custody, patterns of torture and other ill-treatment, including beatings, prolonged incommunicado detention, systematic denial of medical care and detention conditions incompatible with human dignity.

Amnesty International has also documented patterns of enforced disappearance, both in the initial stages of detention and during deprivation of liberty. In numerous cases, the authorities concealed the whereabouts of detainees for days or weeks, refusing to provide family members with information on their location or physical condition. In others, individuals remained deprived of liberty despite final court rulings ordering their release that were not executed by prison authorities. Family members interviewed described desperate searches in prisons, morgues and courts without obtaining official information on the whereabouts of their loved ones, temporarily placing them outside the protection of the law.

The report concludes that these abuses are not isolated events, but have been facilitated by a profound institutional transformation that began in 2021, including the dismissal of magistrates from the Constitutional Chamber and the Attorney General, legal reforms that undermined due process, and the growing militarization of public security.

“El Salvador had and continues to have a duty to protect the population from criminal violence. But no state can effectively combat violence by reproducing the same patterns of fear, discrimination, abuse and impunity it claims to fight,” concluded Ana Piquer. “The experience in El Salvador demonstrates the enormous risk of normalizing security models that promise immediate results through a purely repressive approach, without considering due process safeguards or respect for human rights.”

The experience in El Salvador demonstrates the enormous risk of normalizing security models that promise immediate results through a purely repressive approach, without considering due process safeguards or respect for human rights.”

Ana Piquer, Americas director at Amnesty International.

Amnesty International urges the Salvadoran state to adopt a verifiable plan to end the state of exception, fully restore due process guarantees, independently investigate documented violations and, where sufficient evidence exists, prosecute those allegedly responsible for crimes under international law, including crimes against humanity. It also urges the state to guarantee unrestricted access for international human rights mechanisms to detention centres and judicial proceedings related to the state of exception. Finally, it calls on the international community to strengthen independent monitoring and international accountability mechanisms in relation to the human rights situation in El Salvador.

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact: [email protected]

Source: Greenpeace Statement –

SYDNEY, Wednesday 15 July 2026 — Greenpeace Australia Pacific has called for an urgent pause on data centre approvals, after Anthony Albanese revealed the government’s AI legislation won’t be introduced until 2027. 

The PM outlined plans for “greater clarity and speed for approvals” for data centre proponents, but, despite acknowledging the severe strain these facilities place on Australia’s land, water, and clean energy resources, will not bring legislation to Parliament until early next year.

Last month, Greenpeace called on the Federal Government to urgently implement a moratorium on the construction and approval of new data centres until appropriate regulations and safeguards are in place to protect the climate and communities.

Joe Rafalowicz, Head of Climate and Energy at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said:

“The PM’s speech today shows that this government is kicking the can down the road, while Australians right around the country are calling for urgent regulations on AI data centres that are already being built in their backyard. We shouldn’t be talking about ‘faster decision making’ when there are no laws in place to protect our communities from this dangerous industry.  

“We urgently need a moratorium on AI data centre approvals until there are binding rules in place to protect our communities, our climate and our environment. The Prime Minister is rolling out the red carpet for these water-guzzling energy vampires, with no plans to regulate them until at least 2027 — that is a betrayal of Australian communities and our national interest.

“Big tech companies are looking to make Australia their second home, but in the US, AI data centres are wreaking havoc on people’s health, drinking water and air by running their data centres on gas. They’ve set their own house on fire, and we shouldn’t be opening the door to let them do that here.

“No new data centres should be approved until there are clearly defined, enforceable regulations in place, including requiring 100% additional renewable energy, that protect people, our climate and our environment – and absolutely no new fossil fuels like gas.”

-ENDS-

Source: Amnesty International –

In response to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s announcement of a campaign to “systematically disable” the International Criminal Court’s “ability to operate”, Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard said:  

“The Secretary of State’s reprehensible attack on the ICC is the latest in a series of escalating and existential assaults by the Trump administration on the very idea of international justice and a rules-based order, and on the international institutions painstakingly put in place over the last 80 years to ensure global peace and stability. This attack came on the very day the ICC’s Deputy Prosecutor was in Chad meeting Darfuri victims of war crimes and atrocities in Sudan. The contrast could not be starker: while victims seek justice, the US government is seeking to undermine one of the world’s most important mechanisms for delivering it.

“In trying to discredit the Court, Rubio instead highlights its very purpose: ensuring accountability when those with the power to act choose not to. His arguments read like a tacit admission of wrongdoing – suggesting concerns that US officials could one day be held accountable for actions that may amount to crimes under international law, including deporting people to torture in El Salvador’s prisons or the campaign of extrajudicial killings in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. The only reason he would have to fear the ICC is if US officials have committed such crimes outside the United States and the US government is unwilling to hold them genuinely accountable.”

“The ICC exists to deliver justice for the victims and survivors of atrocities around the world and hold the most powerful perpetrators accountable for their crimes. By threatening increased sanctions against the ICC and affiliated organizations, visa revocations and travel bans for ICC personnel, and heightened diplomatic pressure on other states to withdraw from the Court and oppose it, the US government is stepping up its campaign for a world without rules and without justice.

In trying to discredit the Court, Rubio instead highlights its very purpose: ensuring accountability when those with the power to act choose not to.

Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard

“If other states bow to this pressure, they will acquiesce to a new era of lawlessness, impunity and rampant injustice. Now is not the time to appease. Now is the time to resist.”

“Appeasement will only further embolden perpetrators and open the door to more armed conflicts and more crimes committed by powerful leaders against their own or other states’ populations. Amnesty International calls on all states to firmly resist – both collectively and unilaterally – the Trump administration’s campaign against the ICC and all international institutions that protect human rights. They must also reiterate their support for the Court and enact practical and legislative measures, including so-called ‘blocking statutes’, to mitigate the effect of US sanctions on those impacted.

“State inaction and cowardice in the face of past sanctions and attacks is what emboldened the US to announce this strategy. For the good of humanity, victims’ hopes of justice, and the prospect of lasting global security, the international community must come together, stand up to the bullies in the White House and State Department and protect the international rule of law. We must not accept a reality where the most powerful have the least legal responsibility.”